Better, Faster, Smarter, Stronger
by Really You HAD to do that
Summary: A mysterious killer is on the loose, "improving" his victims. The local authorities have reached a dead end so they have called in the BAU to catch him before he murders another. I REALLY suck at summaries. First criminal minds fic so please don't kill me if I get something wrong. Please? Oh, R/R please also
1. She was extraordinary

**A/N: Hey, so this is my second fanfic, and my first one I kinda lost interest in after one chapter. Oops.  
So, I might have itty bitty commitment issues, so all reviews are appreciated, even if its "constructive criticism".**

**Pretty please with a cherry on top?**

**Also, I would like to include quotes at the start of each chapter, but don't know any, so leave a suggestion in your review, or drop me a PM.**

**Disclaimer: Unless BBC decides to just randomly give me the Criminal Minds rights, I own zip.**

**~End of long boring authors note, start of chapter 1~**

"How can you be so good at this! Are you absolutely sure that you're not a robot?" Mayzie groaned at Anne over their algebra test that Mr Whitcombe had suddenly decided to spring on them.

Anne glanced over, and shrugged, with a sympathetic and helpless look that she gave her best friend every time she asked, in tests of any kind, from English to P.E. to the dreaded Algebra.

Anne was well known for being exceptional, nothing prodigy worthy, but well over average of people 2 years older than her. She was tall for her age and muscled enough to look normal enough in her year group that she had been put up into. She had dark brown hair, that had been tip-dyed golden blonde. Dark blue, almost purple eyes complemented a slightly bigger than normal nose and full lips. At 15, she had only had a few boyfriends, and had broken-up with her last one -Kevin- after she saw him making out with a cheerleader at the mall, thus breaking her heart.

" Just go up, hand in the test and save me a spot beside you at lunch, ok?"

"You sure? I can hang around, if you want"

"Nah, Witty thinks you're helping me, I need to get a good grade without him thinking I'm -witty forbid- cheating".

"Alright, see you in a few, k?"

"Yup" she replied, returning her attention to the sums on the white copier paper, tuning everything out.

That was the last time she said anything to her for a long time.

==================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)====================

Doctor Spencer Reid walked into the conference room 16 minutes late after engaging in a mental confrontation with a smart Alec in front of him in the line at Starbucks, where he got his morning coffee, on the subject of espresso machines. Needless to say, napkins had been thrown by the end of the argument with Reid walking out content that he had won, leaving an exasperated baristar behind.

The rest of the team was already seated and clearly waiting for him.

"Now that the kind doctor has joined us, lets begin." Rossi dryly announced.

JJ cleared her throat, and began their next case details "We have been called out to Shreveport, Louisiana about kidnappings of three teens, aged from 14 to 18." A young, bright girl with short, curly blonde hair appeared on the screen.

"This is Charlotte Trent, 16, she was taken from her school around three months ago, and was found by a farmer in his cattle paddock three and a half weeks later." The picture was replaced by her body lying in the grass, with a single bullet hole in the middle of her forehead.

Emily leaned forwards, thinking that the girl in the second image looked different, she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"About a month afterwards, Josh Hallas, 14, was abducted, also from his school, and found much like Charlotte was two weeks and five days later." A smiling, dark-haired boy with pale skin was replaced of an image of him dead staring into space at something no one living could see. Once again, a shot wound tarnished his forehead.

"And, most recently, Devon Lineer, 18. He was kept for over a month." Devon had had dirty blonde locks with green eyes, with strong cheekbones. He had been finished off like all the others. "He was found two days ago."

"The head shot on each of the victims indicates that they weren't killed out of emotion." Morgan noted.

Jennifer nodded, and continued. "Each victim was known to be extraordinary, getting higher than average marks, nothing Reid worthy, but all the same, smarter and with determination to do well that set them above their classmates, who are older than them." Reid stiffened slightly at this piece of information, and everyone turned to him, expecting him to say something.

So, as he did when he was nervous, he spitted out statistics at breakneck speed. "75% of students work at the average, a further 15% are below it, while 9% are higher, with the last 1% at prodigy level"

"So, our killer would've had to look for his target, maybe stalking them for days" Hotch stated.

"Was there any sexual assault?" Prentiss questioned tentatively.

JJ shook her head, hesitated and then spoke "No, but forensics have confirmed that the victims muscle percentage went up dramatically the more time with their lungs becoming more efficient, especially Devon, who had been in captivity for the longest. They also found traces of steroids in their bloodstreams, as well as another chemical that they're trying to discern still at this moment"

"So... This UNSUB, he's trying to make these teenagers, better, faster and stronger?" Garcia asked

"That's what it seems like" Rossi replied gravely.


	2. Taken

**A/N hey, thanks for all the story alerts and favs! This chapter I kind of got a bit stuck on at the start, but I hope it gets better in the second part!**

**Still looking for quotes, send them in!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, but that would be pretty cool.**

**~Chapter 2~**

Morgan slumped into the jet's seat, and glanced over the pictures that Prentiss laid out, the others were going over possibilities and starting the profile, as they normally would when at the start of a flight. After they could muse no longer, and Hotch dished out their first moves once they arrived. Morgan and Reid would cover the dump sites, Rossi and JJ were going to talk with the families and Hotch and Emily would visit the schools and ask the students about the victims.

For now, all they could do was wait, and mull over their latest case.

Derek saw Reid settling into the seat, and start to read a book that was as thick as his arm. He would be finished by the end of the trip, give or take. He could tell that their resident genius was troubled by this latest case, but Spence didn't want anyone to know, otherwise he could risk being profiled by the team for the rest of the month.

Reid covered it well, but Morgan didn't have to profile him to know that since these victims were extraordinary, even though they nowhere his level, he could connect with them better than all others that worked on the case, because he had been them, a time ago.

"Hey kid, how're you holding up?" He said as he changed seats to sit beside Spence. Dave looked up once, and gave the slightest of nods in his direction before returning his attention to his laptop.

"Alright,I guess, just a little sleepy cause I was up late last night, with a paper for North Dakota's Uni on medical procedures" Morgan looked quizzically at the coffee cup next to the genius, he could go all night without sleep, and as long as he was riding on a caffeine high he could fight off the tiredness. His record had been a week and four days, and that had only been stopped when the milk ran out.

"You're wide awake and both us and George Clooney knows it."

"Morgan, I think you're spending too much time profiling, you should consider a break" he replied in a joking tone, and Derek sighed.

"Please don't counter my concern with more concern"

"I'm fine."

"Whatever you say you are" Morgan muttered, just loud enough so Reid could hear, and pulled his headphones over his head and drifted off to the world where the music took him.

================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)======================

Anne was sitting at a lunch table, eating what could barley pass as spaghetti bolognaise, waiting for her friend, when a man in a black ski mask walked in, hollering for everyone to _get down_, and fast.

The shock of his sudden entrance and yells made everyone drop to the floor, the gun shot to the ceiling kept them there.

Quickly, the man grabbed the closest boy, Harry his name was, and held him, the barrel of the gun shoved against his terrified face. "Let's start with what I want and what you want, shall we? I'll go first." His voice was deep and gravely with a sadistic tone to it.

"I want Anne Greenhalle"

Then entire hall was in deep silence, like they were remembering an old friend at a funeral, which Anne thought, could happen with her the way this was going. The man then looked expectantly at his trembling captive, a question written on his face.

"Well? What is it that you want?"

"Uhh, I- I wa- wa-n want ta- to livvvvv" Harry stuttered, terrified, then cautiously added "Si- sir?"

The silence was shattered as great bellows of raucous laughter filled the room. "You know, I quite like being called sir! But, lets get back to business, shall we? You will get what you want, if I get what _I_ want, but you won't get what you want, if I don't." His tone had started off jokingly and light, but moved deeper and showed anger that lay behind.

Anne suddenly realised that no one was looking at her. They weren't going to give her away, but were silently wishing that she would do it herself. She hadn't ever really known Harry personally, but she had walked past him in the hallways, and was in her French class. But he had a whole network of family, friends, coaches, acquaintances and even enemies that would miss him and hate the way he passed, and after Harry another would be grabbed, and killed until she gathered the guts to stand up and save them.

All this slipped through her mind as she stood up and made her way through the tables, and she kept it as a mantra. _Save them, save them, save them, save them._

The rest of the world melted away, it was just her, her footsteps and her heart that was threatening to beat itself right out of her chest, and she was held in a daze where all her classmates that were staring at her sadly didn't exist._ Save them, save them, save them_. She didn't even turn when Mayzie shrieked at her from the doors, she couldn't even discern the words, it was hard to hear, as if she were underwater.

When she reached the him, the man slapped a powerful hand onto her shoulder, and from then on, she knew that there was no go-backs, no do-overs, she was utterly in his power, and she couldn't escape from that hand.

She flinched as he lent down, and whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her cheek.

_"You failed the first test"_


	3. The monster called Pain

**A/N: Hi! Thank you guys sooooo much for all the favs, alerts and reviews! Especially the reviews, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Thanks to...**

**bandgeek18**

**CAT217**

**Sooo, still looking for quotes, but yeah.**

**P.S. More than one line in between text means line break.**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: Sir, I'm from your daughters school, and we have a permission form for you to sign, tomorrow we're going to the Museum!**

**Whoever actually owns Criminal Minds: I have a son**

**Me: Ehrm, right! Sorry, I deliver so many of these that these son or daughter thingymajigs get all confused!**

**Guy who owns CM: uh, alright...(leans a bit further away) couldn't you just send the form home with my son?**

**Me: But it's school policy, you see! We like to go the extra mile! (Gives a toothpaste ad smile)**

**CM rights owner: Whaaaaatever, just give me the form. (I give him the rights document)**

**Me: sign here, here and here, initials here there and here. (Points out various places on the papers)**

**Rights owner guy: You, know, this looks an awful lot like a document that would put all rights in the name of... Really you HAD to do that.**

**Me: Oh I get that all the time, it's really just your daughters, er, sons permission form to go to the museum**

**CBS guy: Nice try, but get out.**

**Me: B-but**

**CBS rights owner of CM: Get out, or I'll sic Shemar Moore on you**

**Me: I'm outta here! (Runs from the room, down the hallway and into the elevator.**

**~Chapter 3~**

JJ Felt like breaking down with Mrs Hallas, as the parents of Josh had to relive his last few days befor the kidnapping, and fill all the little details that couldn't be included on a digital summary.

"Do you really need to know?" Shelley, Josh's mother asked, her voice breaking with emotion as even more tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Ma'am, it could be important to our case, we wouldn't ask you if it wasn't vital" Rossi crooned.

"Just make sure you catch this man"

===============(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)=======================

"The UNSUB parked his truck here, and then got out and opened the boot" Reid indicated a point on a grass verge between the road and the grain farmers fence.

"He took the body out and dragged it over the fence, then through the grain for about twenty metres" Morgan finished for him as the pair walked to the site where the body had been found.

"And then just dropped the body, and wiped his hands on these stalks, before making his way back to his truck." Spencer concluded.

"Everything about this guy is too professional, there is no sign of emotion at all, he would have to have a background of training, on either side of the law."Derek added

"Yeah" Reid got a far-away look in in his eyes, barley concentrating.

"Look kid, I don't think anyone would pull you off the case, we need you to too much to help us catch this son of a bitch and lock him away forever."

Reid gave Morgan a sideways look before replying, "Alright, I don't think we'll get anything more out of this anyway."

And so the two best friends started to walk back to the SUV, and as Spencer stepped carefully over the tyre marks left from the UNSUB's truck, did he notice that the grip design was different to any mass-produced model, and he should know, he had all of them committed to memory.

"Morgan, come take a look at this"

===================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)===================

"Charlotte had always kinda been the nerd, but she wasn't what everyone thinks a nerd is, she was funny and compassionate and a little bit crazy at times and was always up for a bit of fun, and she definitely didn't deserve this, and what she's getting right now!" The last few word Lilly half-screamed.

"Lily, we're trying the be-" Prentiss started.

"Trying the best you can, we know. Been there, heard that, sick of of it. Char had a future, no one knows that later in life that she could've cured cancer, or won a Nobel prize or something. And you people come in here, and are going to ask me the exact same questions that the other cops asked, and no one really cares!" Lily sobbed.

_Now I see why the local PD cut her interview short._ Hotch thought wearily. "Lily, the whole reason we're here is that what you and your peers could remember something, or could shed some light on questions that the local police didn't ask" he explained.

"So now you want to know" she sniffed

"Know what?"

"For about two weeks before -before what happened- Char thought that someone was following her."

Anne woke up to the smell of damp.

===================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)===================

She was in a small, cramped rough concrete room, with a large metal door that wouldn't be out of place on the side of an aeroplane, just not curved. There was a sparse metal bunk with no mattress that looked like it had been thrown across the small space in anger and frustration by the previous occupant. A maddenly drip, drip, drip came from somewhere she couldn't discern. She had been neatly placed in the corner. _Save them, save them,_ wouldn't stop running through her mins

She stood up and walked over to the door, tentatively running her fingers over the cool metal, and wondered how she had came to be here. Who was she anyway?

_My name is Anne Greenhalle, I live in Shreveport. Everyone says I'm exceptional, and I could be anything, but I have no idea what I want to do in life._ Anne's memories seeped back, and she remembered that day at school, when she was taken away from her life. After they had left school premises, they had walked to the subway, and they had changed trains so much that she lost all sense of bearings, and reached the end of the city where they had walked through fields and fields until they reached a deserted country road where a dusty truck with _Ron's Rental_s written across the side. After that... There was nothing except a damp cloth being pushed against her mouth and nose.

The door was suddenly opened by the other side, and she had to stumble backwards to keep from falling. A man with straight ash-blonde hair with icy clear blue eyes, with a large, hooked nose. He was tall and muscular, the sort of man you would expect to be a gym instructor. This was the man who had kidnapped her.

"Wh-why are you here? What do you want from m-me!?" Anne stuttered in fear.

"I'm here because as I said before, you failed my first test, and must be punished. As for what I want from you, that's for me to know and you to find out after your graduation, should you survive that far." He said patiently, as if he were a school teacher chastising a 5 year old for throwing a tantrum.

She closed her eyes, and prepared herself._ Save them, save them, save them. _She had to be strong so whoever was his next planned victim, wouldn't have to go through this. Or if they did, at least postpone their fate._ Save them, save them, save them, save them_.

"And my punishment will be?" She was glad that her voice didn't shake, and he chuckled evilly.

"I knew you were a good one, not like Josh, he was weak and pleaded all the way, you remind me of Devon, he was strong till the very end. He didn't like it of course, and even tried to escape a few times, for which he was punished. Which brings me back to where we started" He took a contraption which had two leather thongs which could be tightened around the wrists, and attached to the middle was what looked suspiciously like a leash. He asked for her to hold out her hands, and when she did so, he slipped the thongs over her hands and tightened them, just tight enough to dig into her skin but too tight that the blood circulation stopped. He had experience.

He lead her out of the room, and up a set of stairs, confirming her suspicions that the concrete room was underground. She was then lead down a bright and airy hallway, and through another door, also metal, but nothing as reinforced as the door downstairs.

Inside, the walls were black and reflective, like mirrors. Rings were imbedded at various places around the room, and she could spot different chains hanging on a bare wall at the end of the room. Stainless steel racks were laden with weapons and torture devices, and the floor dipped in places, leading to drains, presumably, to flush away the blood.

Her kidnapper led her to the centre, where a steel table was set up, like a throne, with a harsh white light hanging over it. She suddenly felt her knees weaken, and almost collapsed, but managed to cover it by setting herself heavily on the table. She could not look weak. _Save them, save them._

"Eager, aren't you?" He teased. And Anne didn't reply, and just stared at him, resigned to what was to come, and let him unleash her, and guide her arms and legs to straps set into the table.

He turned away from her, and she heard a rustle and a sharp scrape. Then he started his lecture.

"Now Anne, to be what you want to be you have to be ruthless. Even when someone knows exactly where you are, like I did, pull out all stops to give yourself more time to escape. You have to remember that you are more important than them, whoever they are, whether its the freaking prime minister or you mother" he then turned around, a large knife with a serrated edge in his grasp.

Instead of heading her way, he paced to a station where he pressed a button, and flames leapt over the surface. Then he held the blade over the fire, until it glowed a molten white.

He walked slowly towards her, and positioned the knife above her right thigh, pushing her pleated school skirt up to do so.

"Since you have been on good behaviour, and its your first time, I won't throw in any extras" he gestured to the devices of the room. "And just do the mandatory punishment for your failure"

He then took the white-hot blade down to her leg.

She screamed a blood-curdling scream until she had no breath left, and afterwards shrieked in her mind. The pain was a monster, chewing away at her right leg, until everything was devoid of feeling, and the blackness was taking her away to the nothingness.

"Remember my Anne, always let others die for your own sake. I forgive you for failing" he said before she lost consciousness.

No, she couldn't do that.

_I have to save them!_


	4. He and Hell

**I am sooooo sorry for not updating for like, ages! As I said in the first chapter, I do have commitment issues :( but my mum was all like, on my back for being on the iPad too much. But chapters will come faster in the school holidays, especially when you review (hint hint)**

**There will be the team in the next chapter, but I wanted to concentrate more on Anne.**

**Thank you to all the alerters and favs!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM, but that would be pretty cool.**

Anne stared at the sloppy porridge that He had set before her, like it would disappear if she stared at it enough. But then she would have to go through Hell earlier than she had to. She called it Hell, because she couldn't see how the actual thing could be that different.

She would be woken up before the sun rose, and was forced to sprint along a track to a barn where He would be waiting, -though how he got there so fast she couldn't guess- with a microwave porridge sachet and a stopwatch. Everyday the minimum time for her run was shortened by five seconds, and if she didn't make that, she wouldn't get her "breakfast" and would be marked with another tally in the torture room.

Whenever she did something wrong, annoyed him, didn't meet the time or just generally stepped out of line she would be punished with a tally mark, done by the white-hot blade. In the four days and roughly nine hours that she had been here, she had collected eight marks, a gash on her back because she had sweared at him, and a purple-black bruise on her hip from when she had been hit by a meat tenderiser.

But if the day passed without incident, she could spend the night in the nicer room, which was fitted out with an actual bed with an a mattress on it, curtains, carpet, a mirror and an on suite. It was all very plush and a mile away from the cold, concrete, underground box. She was awarded extras, like snacks, showers, soap, painkillers and fresh clothes.

After she either finished breakfast or bandaging her injuries, she was taken to the "gym" where she was submitted to a series of gruelling workouts, from the cliché push-ups, crunches and rope climbing to deflecting weighted soccer balls shot from a pressurised cannon from the other end of the hall.

At around one, she was served lunch, which could be anything from half an egg sandwich to a full plate of caesar salad, depending on his mood and how many tally's she had gotten. But lunch was always served and it was always healthy. There was a difference to the taste though, like Roses chocolates tasted different, but they added rose water, and Anne was sure whatever had been added wasn't rose water.

Then she was escorted to the "classroom" where she was subjected to mental conditioning, testing her mind to its limits to complete the equation in the time limit. If she didn't, then that would mean another cut in her thigh. She was also quizzed on names and faces, history, religion and theoretical.

Then after about five hours or so of sitting down, she ran continuously around three paddocks until He sounded an airhorn, which symbolised the end of the day and dinner, which like lunch was always healthy.

She still didn't know He's name, so to her he was just He. He was her torturer, her kidnapper, and she feared that if she knew his name, he would be more of a person to her which would make everything that much more unbearable. _Save them, save them, save them!_

"Finish up, or don't at all" He threatened harshly. He was in a bad mood today, she could tell, and hurriedly finished her breakfast.

"Let's go" he gruffly ordered and left to go to the gym, and she could only follow.


	5. I think

**Hey, I'm back! Surprise! Thank you to all that have reviewed, favourited and alerted! Especially the reviewers, they make me write faster, here they are:**

**ImThatTypeOfGirl**

**bandgeek18**

**Please keep it up guys!**

**So, I'm sorry but my line breaks are seriously messed up! I'm trying to edit but it might be a while until I can figure out how to do it :p**

**Disclaimer: These are depressing; I OWN NOTHING!**

"It's been 5 days, 3 hours, 36 minutes, and... 47 seconds since Anne was abducted, and we are stuck." Reid stated tiredly, and he was right. The team had come back to the news that the UNSUB had struck again, and from there things had hit the fan. Yes, the tyres had been custom made, but because they were custom made there was no way of tracing them, and they visited all the vehicle specialty stores in the UNSUB's "comfort zone" and none of them had any records of tyre treads like the ones that had been found at the dump sites.

Rossi sprung up and started pacing like a cadged tiger, and Morgan's lip twitched, he wanted to burst with laughter but knew he shouldn't.

"Let's just take a look at this again, there will be something there" he comforted them in a definite tone. Minutes passed, and feet were tapped anxiously.

JJ glanced down at her fingers, as if she would find an answer there. Thoughtfully, she twisted her Wedding ring, delighting at how the gemstones caught the light and refracted it. Will must've spent a small fortune on it. She gasped loudly and everyone's eyes latched onto her.

"This UNSUB - he has custom made tyres, right?" Everyone nodded and she continued with excitement. "We'll I'm no mechanic, but those would be expensive" she reasoned, and they caught onto her drift.

"And those drugs, if they were available on the street then the price would be well over a few hundred thousand, or he would have to break into a laboratory with higher than state-of-the-art security" Emily added.

"The victims had undergone surgery, so you can add another seventy-five thousand for surgical implements, more if he uses anaesthetics" Reid said thoughtfully.

"And more for things we can't know from the victims" Hotch finished gravely.

Derek stood up and dialled Garcia, only having to wait for a moment before her ever cheery voice ran over the line. "The goddess of digging up dirt here, what do you require?"

"Hey, baby girl, your on speaker, we need you to search something for us" the clicking of keys in rapid succession could be heard over the phone.

"Alright, shoot."

"Check for male doctors between 25 and 40 that have crashed out more than five hundred thousand in the last four months" Morgan asked.

"Ummmm" there was a pause "None, sorry"

"Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way, Garcia, bring up unsolved robbery cases that involved a large sum of cash in the last four months, statewide" Reid asked.

"Over 40"

"Narrow it down to robberies that seemed to be done with structure and professionalism" Hotch requested.

"And...23"

Aaron closed his eyes and tipped his head back "Great, can you send the files to everyone, and please look up unsolved kidnappings and runaways"

"Uh, oh, he said please, this can't be good" she weakly joked. "That's 8, but there will be more that haven't been reported" a few people raised their eyebrows at the last comment, but didn't say anything.

"Okay, send them around" and sure enough, a few seconds later a chorus of beeps filled the silence.

"Hotch, what are you thinking?" Morgan probed.

"I think..." He paused "that we just stumbled onto a criminal empire, of sorts"


	6. Corruption

**SORRY! i haven't updated in ages... I kept writing this chapter over and over again, but it never looked right, hopefully its ok. **

**Thanks to all that have faved, followed and reviewed. Special thanks to... **

**bandgeek18 (again! Thank you for your continued support)**

**Rebecca1 **

**Menea11 **

**ImThatTypeOfGirl **

**No beta, apart from spellcheck on the iPad :p**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, probably not yours.**

The atmosphere had been eerie and quiet, a light breeze drifted through the air, stirring the trees and making them sway and dance to music only they heard. The silence was only ever broken by the musical chirping birds as they greeted the sun; a typical sleepy country morning. Some people could just lie there in the sun, entranced by the rugged beauty that you would never find in the city. That is, until a certain slim figure in rumpled clothes sprinted down the dirt track, like hell itself was chasing her. And, in some ways, it was.

Anne's feet pounded down onto the dirt, and she focused on the sound, to keep her mind off the burn of exhaustion in her arms and legs. Thud swish thud, thud swish thud, thud swish thud. She had to repress a chuckle, despite her situation, as she realised her laces were undone, and she wondered what He would want her to do, if he was watching her, stop and tie it again? Or just keep on going and hope she wouldn't lose her footing? In the end she chose the last option. He wasn't here anyway to chastise her if she did fall.

_He wasn't here. He wasn't watching her._ Here she was running through here, all on her own, with no boundaries to stop her from escaping, granted, though, that she picked the right direction to the city. _And He couldn't stop her._

But Anne knew she couldn't just yet; she would have to think it over, get herself a scrap of a plan to follow before she could make an attempt. Until then, she had to keep with the routine.

_What am i turning into?_ She wondered. She was starting to turn into the cold-blooded killer He wanted her to be. But it looked like all that training would backfire on him, when she got out of this hell. When, not if, another thought of a trained murderer.

But even the seconds it had taken to glance around her could cost her gash on her leg. And with that thought fresh in her mind, she pumped her arms and legs faster, breaking through the barrier by sheer willpower as she rounded the corner.

And nearly ran straight into a wall.

It was freshly sawn pine, untreated and rough to touch with the sap still oozing slowly out of the cuts. It had been strategically placed so she couldn't go around without being trapped in the holly to the right or wasting precious time going around the ditch to her left. She would have to scale it.

Working quickly, she threw herself at the barrier, scrabbling upwards but sliding down half of whatever she gained, her fingertips becoming raw and splinters embedding themselves in her hands painfully.

Finally she reached the top, rolling onto it fast, but her momentum carried her all the way, down to the damp ground, winded and gasping. Groaning, she dragged herself to her feet, and set off heavily down the track.

She arrived at the barn in trepidation, she didn't know wether she had made the time today, she had yesterday, but that had been without a wall in the way.

He stopped the time and inspected the number on the screen critically, letting the suspenseful silence draw out for a few seconds.

"Two minutes six seconds point-three" she felt like collapsing with relief as he tossed the microwaveable porridge packet to her. "Congrats" He said sarcastically and started to lead the way back the the house.

"Can- can I have something for this?" She asked tentatively. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at her raised hands. Finally, he sighed and fished in his pocket before handing her a tiny pair of tweezers and a few plasters with a picture of Strawberry Shortcake on them.

Then, with a large grin at his own joke, He turned smoothly on his heel and exited the barn

==================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)==============

"Okay, this is scary, I searched for other states that match the combination -unsolved missing persons with high-IQ, unsolved robberies that have a sense of professionalism, and random execution style killings- and I came up with four operations going at the same time, and they move on to another area every six months or so, starting from five years ago" Garcia stated as files upon files were uploaded onto the assembled agents tablets and phones.

"Total amount of cases, per victim?" Rossi asked.

"Approximately 340" she answered. Reid closed his eyes, another great weight joining the others settled on his shoulders, and everyone stirred angrily.

"Babygirl, how come no one has ever connected the dots?" Morgan asked, furious.

"Most of the missing persons cases were flagged as found when they weren't, body's were never I.D.'d, and crimes were put down as petty or that the items and money were recovered. Anything that would cover their tracks, you name it, and they did it" she replied.

"They corrupted the force, handing out cash easily-" Hotch started, disgusted.

"-to officers that would take it to cover their tracks-" JJ continued.

"-and anyone who didn't, Was killed" Reid finished.


	7. Happy birthday to you

**Hey! I forgot to say this in the last chapter, but Happy holiday season to you all! Yay! This must be the longest chapter I've ever done! **

**Once again, thank you to all that have faved, alerted and specially the reviewers, you really do make me write faster! Here they are...**

**Menea11**

**Rebecca1 **

**Bandgeek18(once again (:**

**Sorry if it becomes a bit confusing in the middle, between he and He, hopefully it's alright. **

**No beta **

**Disclaimer: of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most :) so I probably don't own CM**

"We have reason to believe that we have uncovered a criminal empire that specialises in robberies and is collecting around a million every month." Hotch stated, leaving the assembled officers in the room lost for words.

Prentiss spoke up braking the silence,"Exceptional students are taken, and are trained until either they fail in some sort of way, or when they reach a point were they are ready mentally and physically, with their spirits broken and are completely bound to a UNSUB who will lead them in robberies, gaining large amounts of money."

"There are four of these operations going on at the same time, far from each other so there is less chance of a connection, and officers are being paid off to tamper with evidence, so nothing has been suspected yet." Morgan said.

"These four could be related, or went to the same class in school, been employed in the same business, or lived on the street in childhood. They probably have a meeting every time they change places, to sort out the next location, and to catch up with the others." Rossi continued.

"So far this quartet has run a smooth operation" Reid added. "But our UNSUB is losing control, and has failed at training agents three times in a row, without doing much to cover it up. He is acquiring another captive, immediately after the death of the previous. This is getting him frustrated easily and he's killing at the first sign of downward movement of the trainee" He paused.

"And is moving farther in a downward movement into total sociopathy"

==================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)==============

Anne was following He out to the classroom when she saw him, tumbling down the stairs.

He had scraggly black hair that looked like it had been cut with a craft knife, light grey eyes, and a handsome face. He was quite tall, and muscular, but not overly so that he wouldn't be quick and nimble. She would pick him to be aged between 20 and 25. He reminded her strongly of her cousin, Jaycob, and decided to call him so.

He stood awkwardly on the bottom step, eyeing He nervously who was just standing there, looking at him expectantly.

"I-I'm sorry, I th-thought that you had left" He sighed, shaking his head, while Jaycob stiffened, already knowing what was coming.

He swung so fast that she couldn't attach her eye's properly onto his moving arm. With a great Thwack! His fist connected with Jaycob's cheek, bringing tears to his face and sending him backwards sprawling over the stairs.

"Dismissed" He said curtly and strode out the door, Anne hurried after him with a backwards glance at Jaycob, who looked at her with surprising sadness and sympathy.

=================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)===============

Anne looked at He nervously, this wasn't the way to the paddock, instead, he was heading for a long, narrow concrete building to the right of the main house, that she had never been in before.

When they entered she was met with a scene you would expect to see in a action movie. On the back wall, hanging on brackets, was the biggest arsenal that she had ever seen. There were hunting air rifles, hand guns, double, even triple barrels, and a menacing looking machine gun standing in the corner, she also saw a rack of what looked suspiciously like grenades and knives; firearms in every shape and size that you could think of, with a crate filled with various magazines standing out to the side. It was a sociopath's best dream, and the polices worst nightmare.

In front of the array of weapons stood several shooting stalls kitted out with safety glasses and ear mufflers. At various distances and heights human shaped targets were set up, with red paint highlighting the chest, neck and head and blue paint on the ankles, knees, elbows and hips.

"Are you aware of the date today?" He asked in a sarcastic tone, she had, of course, lost count. When she shook her head he carried on, pacing.

"Today is the sixth of September, ring a bell? It really should you know." With a shock she realised that she was now 16. She had forgotten her own birthday in the chaos that her life had become.

"Now, it would be inexplicably rude of me to ignore such a large occasion" he continued, "Normally you wouldn't have been introduced to weapons training, but for the occasion, I'll allow it." He smiled sardonically at her. "We'll? What do you say? Have you completely forgotten your manners?"

"Th-thank you, s-sir" she managed to stammer.

"Better, now-" he took an air rifle off its bracket, and handed it to her, pulling out a block that she hadn't noticed before. "If you so much as turn towards me with your finger on the trigger, i will fill you up with so many bullets, you'll end up looking like a pin cushion, understand?" He said in a dangerous tone, and she gulped and nodded.

"Right, posture. Stand with your legs apart, side on to the target, always stand side on, you make yourself a smaller target, it also makes it easier to sight. Right, raise the rifle so it fits into your shoulder comfortably," she did so, shaking. "Oh for gods sake stop shaking! You won't be able to hit the side of a house if you keep that up. Pull it across your body, tilt your head to sight down the barrel, don't touch it though! Aim for that one on the left, closest" she carefully locked the cross to the middle of the dummy's chest. "Slow, deep inhale, hold it. Exhale and pull the trigger" she squeezed her finger, and fired. The smell of gunpowder hung in the air and she examined the target.

At least she had hit it, just in the forearm.

================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)================

Mayzie sobbed as Anne's birthday bonfire was lit, behind the shrine that had had been assembled, with large framed photo's of her, bright and smiling, plenty of candles and presents that most in the community had bought to remember her.

She felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, and she spun to see who it was. Kevin. Before she could tell him to piss off, she noticed his puffy red eyes and the tears running down his cheeks, he looked like he had cried almost as much as her.

"I-I'm so sorry wh-what I did to her, I was so wrong to tr-treat her like that, I beat mysel up about it every day, and in her place I ask for your forgiveness, even though I know I sure as hell don't deserve it." Once his small speech that he had practised many times, he looked at her pleadingly.

She considered it for a moment then nodded her head vigorously, giving him a hug. "Wait- you have to promise me something," she demanded, and it was his time to nod. "When-**when**, not if, she comes back, you have to tell her that with as much emotion as you just did, you got that?"

"Agreed"

They stood there for a moment, and started singing quietly, and all assembled joined in.

_"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Anne, happy birthday to you."_


	8. The Escapee

**Hey again! New chapter. Yaaaay. Things are starting to get interesting, I hope :) **

**Um, so like one review for the last chapter, which got me down cause I updated it as fast as I could :( I don't want to be one of those whiney people, but it does make me write faster. But a huuuuuuuuugggge thank you to ImThatTypeOfGirl, who has stayed with me virtually all the way, you rock!**

**Thanks to all that faved and followed!**

**No beta**

**Disclaimer: Nup, it isn't mine :(**

Reid blinked, trying to refocus his eyes. He really needed a coffee, but couldn't bring himself to rise from the chair. He had stayed up all night, retreading case files, then reading them again and again, but had come up with nothing, and, as a consequence, was totally and utterly exhausted.

Anxiety crept up his throat, he had to find her. He knew he wouldn't forgive himself if Anne died, she was much like himself when he was younger, he remembered talking to her parents, when he asked if their daughter had a higher than normal intelligence, all they had said was I guess so. They didn't care, not really.

He frowned and rested his head on his hand, drawing a glance from Hotch and Morgan; keeping up this facade was difficult, made doubly so because of their profiling skills.

He avoided their gaze, letting it wonder about, finally resting on a day old newspaper discarded on one of the officers desks. I'll read an article and then get up, he told himself, as he started.

**_Man refuses to sell for over $250, 000_**

_Richard Creve, 84, is the sole owner of over 300 acres of prime farming land, and is swearing to keep it that way until his last breath._

_Creve hardly leaves his house, apart from the occasional run to the store, and keep himself to himself and his Bon Jovi collection._

_Deaglas Stroud, 32, has repeatedly made offers to by Richard's property, which have been promptly denied. " he sits there on a potential farm which could give jobs to over 50 people, and does nothing, letting the grounds overgrow with weeds. I wouldn't be surprised too much if I found out that he hadn't walked around those veiled in the last six years" Stroud later said. _

_Efforts are still continued to convince Mr Creve of his property arrangements, but are shooed away with threats of lawsuit._

With that information stored away, Spencer suddenly stood and hungrily headed toward the coffee machine, ignoring the startles of surprise from those situated near him. It's good to keep them on their toes, he thought, giving himself a rare chuckle.

=======================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)=============================

Anne grimly set off on the rope bars; rope attached loosely to two slick metal bars spanning a pit of mud and more unpleasant things. It looked a little like monkey bars, but harder.

As she dropped to the ground from the last rung, she caught a glimpse of the rest of the compound and felt sick, she didn't want to have to go back there, she was almost at breaking point, and when she did break, she was terrified of what was to happen after. The once open space closed on her, suffocating her, squeezing the life from her.

She had to escape from the deadening grip that held her, if she waited any longer, her very should might be compromised.

She blundered off to the left, there really wasn't much difference to which way she went, but this way she wouldn't have to go past the compound.

At first the going was tough, she had to force her way through close-packed trees and bushes, obtaining various cuts and scratches, twigs stuck in and pulled at her hair, and her woollen jersey caught on branches and collected a selection of burs.

Blindly, she blundered on, in any direction that wasn't heading back to He. Finally, she broke free of the suffocating bush, to be faced with decrepit fields that looked like they hadn't been used for years, overgrown with weeds.

A strangled scream of frustration rang through the air, followed by a deafening shot; He had realised that she was slipping from his hands.

Anne took off at a sprint, pumping her arms and legs, the ground passing away quickly. After a solid ten minutes or so, she wasn't even breathing hard. At least that was one good thing that had come from the intensive training He had put her through.

These fields were all good and well for running, but it had little or no cover, especially from a gun. She played with the idea of dropping to the ground whenever she heard someone. But she discarded it on the account that if they were suspicious, all they would have to do would be to fire randomly into the grass. Turning right, she headed for a copse of trees, which she could travel through, and when the tree ran out, she would dash or belly slide her war to the next group of trees.

And so the tiring journey went on.

==========================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(E)(A)(K)============================

The sun had traveled far to the western edge of the sky, and Anne, for all the training she had been through, was starting to tire. Even the weather was against her, giving a hot sunny day that was out of place in the late winter.

At around midmorning she started to get thirsty, as she had only had a glass of water last night, at dinner. It wasn't that bad though, and she pushed through it. But as the day progressed, it became more and more serious, until her tongue felt sticky and swollen, but still left some space for air to pass through.

Then the hunger pangs started, constantly reminding her of the empty space in her stomach, doubling her over sometimes, and she wondered how long she could keep this up. Dimly, she remembered year eight camp, where one of the instructors had taught them the rule of threes; three minutes without oxygen, three hours with out shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food. So far, she had surpassed much more than three hours without shelter, but figured she could make one out of branches and scrap metal, if she could get some.

As she staggered out of the line of trees to sprint to the next one, she was faced with a towering wire fence, like the ones you would see around a field hockey turf, its purpose obvious.

This was it, she thought with a surge of hope, she was finally escaping Hell, and when she reached the closest town, she would inform the police where the compound was, even testify against him in court if she had to, and finally save them!

She noticed the barbed wire topping the barrier, but knew that if she threw her jersey on top, she could get over relatively unharmed. The thing that she didn't notice however, was the security camera hidden in the trees she had just come from.

Anne started to scale the fence like a spider, but lost her footing and came crashing to the ground again. This time, she took off her boots and tied the laces together, slinging them around her neck before climbing, with her fingers and toes holding up her weight. She thought she could hear a humming noise, but put it down to a ringing head from her previous fall.

She stopped just under the barbed wire, and lent against the fence, struggling to pull her jersey off. In retrospect, she should've taken it off before the climb. The sun had almost completely disappeared under the earth, and the dim lighting made it harder to pull it over her head.

Frustrated, she jerked wildly at the wool, and lost her balance, swaying precariously away from the fence, only just stopping herself from falling as she grasped the cold, rusty metal, pulling herself flush with it, taking a much needed breath.

Gradually, she worked the jersey over her head, blinded as the dirty wool covered her eyes.

A cold hand gripped tightly at her ankle, pulling her screaming from the fence, thudding into the hard ground below.

He tuttered, shaking his head like a exasperated parent after their child had broken some pottery. _ "I saw great potential in you, you know, but now it all ends for you." _He cocked his head to the side, grinning.

_"You could actually thank me, after all, some religions believe that death is the greatest escape"_

**Review? Like, pretty please with Reid on top?**


	9. Do not touch

**Hey, so, I know that I've been MIA for a while, I'm really sorry!**

**Also I have started another story, (the things people have to go through) featuring a bad boy Reid :D so the updates on this one wont come too fast, and I think I'll be closing this one up soon. **

**Another big thank you to all that have reviewed, favourited, and followed. You're awesome!**

**Disclaimer: Yadda, Yadda, Yadda, you know the drill. **

Anne was calmer than she had ever been. At first the pain had come thick and fast, consuming her until there was nothing else, but she had drifted away, what chine herself scream and writhe on the cold metal, frothing her blood which covered everything.

Her gaze followed He with horrible fascination, as he discarded the steel meat tenderiser, and picked up a thin, elegant blade, like you would expect to see in a museum, maybe lying on blue satin behind a wall of glass, with a label saying _Do not touch._

Twirling the dagger in his hands, he began to speak for the first time since she had been roughly pushed into the room, and tied to the steel table.

"I suppose you aren't familiar with ancient Chinese torture?" He was only answered by whimpers

"I didn't think so, let me enlighten you. Long ago, when the government and rebel groups alike needed to extract information from their captives, they had them tied down, and gave them small incisions with a fine blade, -not unlike this one- they would start at the feet and work their way upwards. This carried on until they either hit something important, or their victim bleed to death. Wonderful, isn't it? I think it very artistic." His conservational tone unnerved her, dimly, she thought she should be absolutely terrified, but her fate was final, so why bother with such a puny emotion like fear?

And so he started, bending over her feet and making small incisions, revelling in the blood dripping from the knife and table. As he cleared her feet, he started getting more creative, creating swirls and pictures, as normally as one would carving into wood and stone. Suddenly she realised that she was screaming shrilly, begging to god, with tears streaming hot and fast down her face. All the far awayness was gone, and she was returned to her body, to the intense pain, and that thin blade slicing methodically through her flesh.

He had reached mid thigh now, and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. As darkness crept into the edges of her vision, the door burst in, and a panting man ran in.

His clothes were rumpled, like he had been traveling for awhile, and stubble was scattered on his jawline, he would've had a handsome face, but for the bulbous and broken nose witch dominated his face. His hair was a coppery-brown, and cut short. He had tight muscles of a bodybuilder. He was a quite tall, imposing figure overall.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" He yelled, and Anne struggled to keep herself awake, to hear the rest of the conversation.

"She tried to escape, and here the penalty is long painful death. Don't stop me disciplining just because your such a softie, Damon."

"Let's be honest, shall we? You're losing it! If this trainee dies, that'll be the fourth in a row! You need to take a step back, and get your ass back to where it was twenty years ago! She's learnt her lesson, and now she'll be so terrified of you that she follow your every command, I can see the fight bleached from her eyes"

"She's almost done anyway, that's not the fight that's gone from her eyes, it's her life." He whined.

"Ok, this is what we're going to do, I'm going to stay with you until..." Finally, she lost her hold of consciousness, and everything faded into nothing.

================(L)(I)(N)(E)(B)(R)(E)(A)(K)================

Reid contentedly sipped at his coffee, seated with the others as they all stared aimlessly at the various pieces of evidence. It may have looked like they were all doing nothing, but inside their heads their minds were going a hundred miles a minute.

As he had done many times in the past hour, Morgan sprung to his feet and examined the pictures closely. They all were waiting for him to sigh and sit down again, when he froze, concentrating on one single image, pushed to the bottom of the board.

Reid couldn't see what Morgan was looking at, so he tried to remember what picture he was looking at. Beside the shot of the mangled form of Josh Hallas, there had been a ballistics report and a picture of the bullet used to kill him. It had been a six millimetre, and had a few scratches on it, but that was all.

"You guys, look at this" Morgan said, beckoning them closer and moving aside.

"This bullet, has significant scratching and wear, while these" he paused, indicating the other ballistics report on the other bullets found. "Don't have nearly as much."

"So different guns?" Prentiss asked.

"Yes, but that's not the main point, because this much scratching indicates and older gun, which has more friction, and so causes a 'ballistic fingerprint', do you see?"

"Buying a wide array of new and old guns, as well as many different models in different locations, probably using cash, would make it nearly impossible for the police to track him down" Reid noted.

"How are the gun license restrictions here?" JJ asked.

"Quite loose, we won't pin him down through there."

"We still can't be sure if he bought the gun here, but I'll go with Morgan, Emily, you're with Reid, and JJ and Rossi. Go around to the local secondhand gun shops and see if we get a person that matches the profile and bought a gun that would fire a six millimetre." Hotch told them grabbing his coat and leading the way to the Car park.

Finally they had gotten a lead, but where would it take them?

**Okay, so I did look up gun licenses in Louisiana, but I only understood about half of it, so sorry if you live there and I got it wrong :(**

**Please review!**


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